ET Awards for Corp Excellence: Ashwini Vaishnaw named business reformer of the year for driving growth
Ashwini Vaishnaw as Business Reformer of the Year for his significant contributions across different ministries over the last few years. A Wharton Business School alumnus and a former Indian Administrative Service officer, Vaishnaw helms the ministries of railways, electronics & information technology, and information & broadcasting. He has spearheaded policy to make the country a manufacturing hub and is overseeing a massive capital expenditure programme to modernise the Indian Railways.
From locally made mobile phones and IT hardware to rolling stock for the railways, his mantra has been to create a conducive environment for both private and public investments and lift domestic production. Even as Made in India mobile phone shipments reached record highs in the last two years under his watch, production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for IT hardware and telecom equipment have been rolled out. Electronics manufacturing giants such as Apple, Samsung, Dell, HP, Oracle, Jabil and Foxconn have set up new plants in India or expanded existing facilities.
“Manufacturing in India has been completely transformed with the country now exporting goods that it imported,” Vaishnaw said last week. India is also set to become a semiconductor centre. Global companies such as Micron and joint ventures such as TataPSMC have already committed billions for manufacturing and assembling chips in India.
Among the nominees, Vaishnaw stands head and shoulders above the rest, one juror noted. “It’s a good indication that good people come
